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“It’s great that women are university presidents,and I think it’s ˇ great that it’s less of a big deal thanit used to be,” she said. “I think it’s terrific to be thesecond woman president at Brown.”President Shirley Tilghmanasked Paxson to sit ona task force that examinedthe status of women in thesciences and engineering,and it allowed Paxson tonetwork and collaborate.“Most of the members ofthe committee were theseamazing women in the sciences,and I realized that itwas a great thing to be inthe administration, to connectwith these differentindividuals,” she said.A new study from theAmerican Council onEducation paints a compositeof the typical collegepresident: a married,white, 61-year-old man.It also reveals that morethan a quarter of all femalepresidents said they alteredtheir career plans for familyconsiderations. Just 19percent of male presidentssaid the same.Times are better for womenin higher education,though, Paxson insisted.The numbers confirm it:women now run four ofthe eight Ivy League institutionsand comprise morethan 25 percent of universitypresidents, higherthan ever before, accordingto the survey. More than athird of female presidentslead two-year colleges.“It’s great that women areuniversity presidents, andI think it’s great that it’sless of a big deal than itused to be,” she said. “Ithink it’s terrific to be thesecond woman presidentat Brown.”Before officially starting inJuly, Paxson made a fewtrips up to Providence tomeet faculty, staff, students,and alumni andattend commencementexercises in order to learnthe ins and outs of theuniversity as quickly andthoroughly as possible.“I’ve really just been ininput mode,” she said.“I’m trying to get a senseof priorities and figure outwhere the real strengths lieso I can work with peopleto identify areas where Ithink we can build ... it’sbeen very exciting.”Andrew Foster, a Browneconomics professor andlongtime research colleague,mentioned hername when the searchcommittee started acceptingrecommendations.“What has most impressedme about Chris is herability to bring differentconstituents together towork toward a commonpurpose,” he said.It’s an unusual trait foran economist, Foster said,noting that economistsoften work with set methodologiesand tools andcan find it difficult to applytheir knowledge to workcollaboratively outside oftheir field.Paxson admits that shedid not know much aboutBrown before being consideredfor the presidencybut that she has alwayshad respect for the institution.When she met withthe selection committee,she was sold.“I walked out of the roomand said, ‘I really like thesepeople.’ In an interview,you hear the types of questionsand you get a senseof what the institution’spriorities are, and I just reallyliked it,” she recalled.Since being named president,she’s leaned on Princetonpresident Tilghman foradvice that ranges from thelarge-scale to the mundane.“Everything from how toorganize an office, howyou think about things likedevelopment, how you distinguishbetween the rolesof president and provost... to things like how youmanage your life on a dayto-daybasis and cope withhaving a very busy schedule,”she said.She’s also had multipleconversations with Sim-Link back to contents page14 Superscript
mons, and is grateful forthe strong foundation thatwas left for her.“Ruth Simmons did somestrategic planning whenshe started, and it’s timeto go back and rethink thestrategy for the next decade,”she said. “Prioritizingis really important, andwe’re going to have somehard decisions to make inthe next year, like how tobuild and where to build.That’s a process that has tobe inclusive.”Brown’s 250th anniversaryis approaching. Afterthe previous presidency’speriod of faculty expansionand substantial fundraising,some stakeholderssuggest that it’s time toshift focus on how to distributethese new resourceswhile also maintainingthe qualities that makeBrown special.“It’s a small faculty, so it’simportant that we moveforward, make strong decisions,and remain collegial,”Foster said.Paxson won’t say what theschool’s biggest priorityshould be—she said it’stoo soon to decide—butHavel’s she did Beggar’s mention Opera a few possibilities.Theatre In line Department with herBarnardand research The Harriman interests, Institute PaxsonMiller TheaterDecembercited building2, 2006the school’spublic health offerings aswell as working more withthe medical school, a facilityPrinceton lacked.“With health care reformcoming down the pipeline ...there are going to be manychanges that we want tothink about,” she said.There’s also the nationaleducational climate, whichhas made college moreexpensive for students.“It may be obvious, but it’sincredibly important thathigher education is accessibleto people both in theUnited States and globally.There is tremendous pressureon public institutionsas support for universitiesfrom states has beenshrinking steadily and loanburdens are going up,” shesaid.She added: “It’s not somethingthat one universitycan address—this is somethingwe have to addresscollectively as a society. Ihope that at some pointpeople will wake up andrealize that supporting ourinstitutions—especiallystate institutions—is somethingwe must do if we’regoing to be successful as acountry going forward.”Paxson said she’s not afraidof fundraising, often perceivedas a tedious necessityof the job.“There are many misperceptionsabout fundraisingat universities,” she said.“You talk to intelligentpeople who are dedicatedto your institution aboutways to make the institutionstronger with theirsupport.She added: “People havegood ideas … using theirexpertise is really somethingvaluable.”To some, her biggest challengemay be embracingBrown’s culture. After 26years at buttoned-downPrinceton, some studentswonder if Paxson will beable to fit into Brown’smore free-wheeling atmosphere.But Paxson saysshe gets where Brown iscoming from.“Brown’s philosophy isbased on the idea thatstudents are to take responsibilityfor their owneducation ... and it attractsa group of students thatare very creative, independentand very interesting,”she said. “There are fewcore requirements, andstudents are encouragedto explore widely and todevelop in ways that theydetermine themselves.”She added that studentsshouldn’t worry aboutcultural changes.“To me, the fun of takingon a job like this is to figureout how you can growthe institution in the bestway possible while remainingtrue to this culturethat everybody values. Arethere people that think I’mtrying to bring Princetonwith me? That’s just notgoing to happen.”She said she hopes she’llbe able to attend seminarsand talk to studentsthrough both formal andinformal get-togethers.“If you don’t see them on adaily basis, you lose touchwith why you’re doing thisin the first place,” she said.In the future, she’d liketo pick up with researchand teaching, but knowsher first year should befocused on the immediaterequirements of the job.“Being an administrator,you realize, is not aboutshuffling papers at all,”she said. “It’s all aboutsupporting the research offaculty and students whoare doing lots of differentthings. I take a lot of pleasurein developing programsthat support that,and I am really excited toget started.”Superscript 15Link back to contents page
Page 1 and 2: SuperscriptVolume 3, Issue 1Fall 20
Page 4 and 5: CharlesLeilaLink DickensKhaled. Pho
Page 6 and 7: shared the same themes, the same fr
Page 8 and 9: “One learns one is not alone,”
Page 10 and 11: “You’re Being Sensitive Again..
Page 12 and 13: Link back to contents page10 Supers
Page 14 and 15: But in March, Brownannounced that i
Page 18 and 19: Presidents Havel, Bollinger,and Cli
Page 20 and 21: Although Warren grew up in a union
Page 22 and 23: content or satisfied simply being a
Page 24 and 25: Link back to contents page22 Supers
Page 26 and 27: “[Fencing for Columbia] helped me
Page 28 and 29: Alumni News | Graduate School of Ar
Page 30 and 31: Alumni ProfileLouis ParksGraduate S
Page 32 and 33: On the ShelfFACULTY PUBLICATIONSThe
Page 34: On the ShelfALUMNI PUBLICATIONSIn S
Page 37 and 38: The Cultural Politics of Twentieth-
Page 39 and 40: Daniel David MacDougall. Singlemole
Page 41 and 42: Alexander Vincent Penson. Searchfor
Page 43 and 44: Teachers College: Sociology andEduc
Page 45 and 46: Joseph Woo with Provost John Coatsw
Page 47 and 48: GSAS Annual FundEach year, the Grad
Page 49 and 50: $1,000 to $2,499continuedDr. Sam H.
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